Frank Newman: Power blackout - Government solution: more regulation

How comic to see the shrill finger-pointing by Labour's front bench.

"It's them, them...the exploitative power company monopolies...they are the villains...not us".

And of course, they assured us that only they can put the problem right.

How predictable. The socialists answer to every problem is more regulation, even when regulation is the problem! Ironic though that now they want the power companies to burn coal - last week they didn't!

Derek Mackie: Power outages due to cold weather - must be climate change!

Last night, while attending my weekly pub quiz, several of my team who work in the medical sector got text alerts from Waikato DHB warning of rolling blackouts across the region and the possible effects on services. These were quickly followed by texts from family members asking if we had lost power, like them. Luckily for us, lights in the pub stayed on and we finished our quiz. 

 According to TVNZ online news: Transpower New Zealand GM of operations Stephen Jay says demand for electricity is at an all-time high. "Insufficient generation has been made available to meet demand and manage a secure system," Jay said. 

"As a result, Transpower has asked the distribution companies to reduce load.” 

 Well, it was a chilly night in Hamilton but not as cold as a few weeks back. What was different this time was that a high pressure area was covering pretty much all of the country, leading to clear skies, calm conditions and the typical cold, frosty nights that result. 

Mike Butler: Treaty book tells of grievance, greed

If you want to know about treaty politics, grievance and greed, and how we got into a position with a tribal elite routinely claiming half of everything, Tribes, treaty, money, power – a guide to New Zealand’s treaty issues is the book for you. This cannot be a review of the book because I wrote it. But I can tell you what it contains and what it set out to do.

This book, published this week, started in mid 2008 when I put in a written submission opposing the Central North Island Forests Land Collective Settlement Bill, and drove up to Wairakei to present my submission orally to the Maori affairs select committee.